The present invention pertains to a sway bar or anti-roll bar for a vehicle suspension system including a hydraulically actuated latch for decoupling the sway bar from the suspension system in an on-off type control mode or for modifying the sway bar operating characteristics in a high-low type control mode.
In automotive vehicle suspension systems a sway bar, sometimes also referred to as an anti-roll bar or stabilizer bar, is often used to minimize the amount of vehicle lean and wheel deflection during vehicle cornering. Conventional sway bars are generally U-shaped, steel, rod-like devices which act as a torsion spring and are connected to either the front or rear wheel suspension system in such a way that if wheel deflection is unequal or in opposed directions, the sway bar resists the deflection in proportion to the forces tending to cause such deflection.
For example, when a vehicle is turning a corner, centrifugal force tends to cause the vehicle body to lean away from the turn which tends to cause the outer wheels to deflect up and the inner wheels to deflect down in relation to the vehicle. A sway bar resists this opposed deflection of the wheels and reduces the amount of lean thereby improving vehicle handling and ride characteristics. However, in certain vehicle operating conditions such as low speed off-road driving, it may be desired to reduce the sway bar effect or eliminate the sway bar effect altogether. It is to these ends that the present invention has been developed.
The present invention provides a sway bar assembly for an automotive vehicle which includes an actuator or latch device for modifying the sway bar operating characteristics or effectively decoupling the sway bar from the vehicle suspension system.
In accordance with one important aspect of the present invention a vehicle sway bar assembly is provided which includes a hydraulic actuator or latch operable to effectively couple and uncouple opposed sections of the sway bar with respect to each other to place the sway bar in operation or, effectively, deactivate the sway bar from having any effect on the vehicle suspension system.
In accordance with another aspect of the invention, a vehicle sway bar assembly is provided which includes an actuator or latch operable to modify the sway bar stiffness from a high stiffness operating condition to a low stiffness operating condition.
The present invention also provides a hydraulic latch device for effectively coupling and uncoupling a sway bar with respect to a vehicle suspension or modifying the sway bar operating characteristics. The hydraulic actuator or latch device is remotely controllable and includes a coupling and an anti-backlash mechanism which are both operable to reduce any slack or lost motion in the latch device which would adversely effect the sway bar operating characteristics.
Those skilled in the art will further appreciate the above noted features and advantages of the invention, together with other important aspects thereof upon reading the detailed description which follows in conjunction with the drawings.